Bloom Festival

MORE THAN 60,000 visitors are expected to visit the Bloom garden, food and family festival in the Phoenix Park in Dublin over the next five days. Such a lovely way to spend the Bank Holiday weekend which is also expected to be a scorcher!!

Special traffic arrangements have been put in place for the event, which is being held on the grounds of the visitor centre in the park, located off the main road running from Parkgate Street to the Castleknock Gate.

The Garda has advised that the Ashtown gate of the park will be closed for the duration of the festival, which concludes next Monday evening.

Bloom will showcase the best of Ireland’s horticulture and food industry.

Key attractions this year include a record 27 show gardens; an Irish “craft garden” in association with the Crafts Council of Ireland to celebrate the Year of Craft, and Bloom’s first international garden, from China.

The new Bord Bia food village will bring all of the food aspects of the show together in one central area, while an “interactive kids’ zone” will feature a daily teddy bear’s picnic and games.

The event organiser Bord Bia says it is working with the Carbon Trust to measure the carbon footprint of Bloom and will use the results to plan future events.

A series of measures have been put in place to reduce the carbon footprint of this year’s event, including waste management controls, monitoring the reuse of materials and increasing the use of public transport, walking and cycling to and from Bloom.

Bloom starts today and is open daily from 10am-6pm.

Adult tickets are available on the gate for €20 and up to three children per paying adult are admitted free. Discounted tickets can be purchased in advance online.

Giftsdirect will definately be spending some time in the Phoneix Park this weekend!!